Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/10/2020

An Iranian man of no fixed abode was arrested by police on a bridge in Palm Beach after they discovered he had a number of knives (or perhaps bladed instruments) on his person. The bridge where the incident occurred is not far from the residence of President Trump in Mar-a-Lago.

In other news, a French department has revealed that 80% of the underage migrants who registered there in 2019 were actually adults.

To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.

Thanks to C. Cantoni, Caroline Glick, Dean, Insubria, JD, Reader from Chicago, SS, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.

Notice to tipsters: Please don’t submit extensive excerpts from articles that have been posted behind a subscription firewall, or are otherwise under copyright protection.

Caveat: Articles in the news feed are posted “as is”. Gates of Vienna cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of the contents of any individual item posted here. I check each entry to make sure it is relatively interesting, not patently offensive, and at least superficially plausible. The link to the original is included with each item’s title. Further research and verification are left to the reader.

Financial Crisis
» Italian Employment Rose to Highest Level on Record in Nov — ISTAT
» Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Adds 145,000 Jobs in December, Unemployment Rate Holds at 3.5%
» The Fed Can’t Reverse the Decline of Financialization and Globalization
 
USA
» BeOS: The Alternate Universe’s Mac OS X
» Breaking: Iranian National With Machete, Pick Ax Detained on Bridge Near Mar-a-Lago
» CBS Plans Suspicious ‘Documentary’ on Right-Wing YouTubers, Sends Emails to Nick Fuentes, Faith Goldy
» Epstein Death Cover up Continues, Surveillance Video Evidence Destroyed
» Experts Say California Wildfires Not Caused by Climate Change
» Florida Man Friday: The Nugs Sauce or Your Life
» Iranian National Found With Knives on Flagler Memorial Bridge, Palm Beach Police Say
» Joaquin Phoenix Takes Jet to Climate Protest to Preach Vegan Diet
» Marianne Williamson Drops Out of 2020 Race
» NY Times Slapped With $5M Lawsuit for Citing SPLC, Branding Immigration Hawk a ‘White Nationalist’
» Paul Craig Roberts: The Justice Department is Devoid of Justice
» Trump Says ‘Pathetic’ Democrats Would’ve Leaked Soleimani Strike Plans to ‘Fake’ Media
» University of Connecticut Student Narrowly Avoids Jail for Using the N-Word
» Urban Planning Professor Calls for Rethinking of Private Homeownership
» Vermont: Bill Would Ban Cellphone Use for Those Under 21
 
Canada
» McDonald’s Tests Out New Vegan Burger in Canada
» Meghan Markle Returned to Canada After Quitting as Senior Royal
 
Europe and the EU
» France, The “Budding Islamic Republic”
» How Prince Harry ‘Defied the Queen’ By Announcing Plans for Him and Meghan Markle to Quit as Senior Royals
» Hungary: Orban on 2022 Elections: ‘I Stand Prepared’ To Continue as PM
» Hungary Overtakes Poland in GDP Per Capita
» Italy: 3 Men Try to Rape Male Friend
» Meghan and Harry Trademarked ‘Sussex Royal’ Branded Items as Long Ago as June 2019
» Prince Harry’s Role as Head of Royal Marines ‘In Doubt’, Hadn’t Been Seen ‘In Months’: Claim
» Scottish Hermits Excommunicated After Accusing Pope Francis of Heresy
» Sweden Halts Iran Air Flights After Crash
» Syrian Orthodox Church in Sweden Under Guard After Series of Suspected Arson Attacks
» UK: Police ‘Did Nothing’ As Alleged Kurdish Rape Gang Abused Girl, Court Hears
» UK: Pensioner, 73, Fined £75 for Littering and ‘Treated Like a Criminal’ After Feeding Crumbs to Pigeons
» UK: Woman, 21, Posed as a 16-Year-Old Boy to Sexually Assault as Many as 50 Girls
» Would Turkish Schools in Germany Increase Erdogan’s Influence Abroad?
 
Middle East
» Breaking: Video Shows Ukrainian Passenger Plane Being Hit by Missile in Iran
» Caroline Glick: Trump and the Mythmakers
» Iran is Using Bulldozers at the Ukrainian Plane Crash Site, Which Could Make it Impossible to Prove What Happened
» Now the Iranians Are Promising More Military Action Against U.S. Forces, And That Would Definitely Start World War 3
» Top IRGC General: Strikes on US Forces in Iraq Just Beginning of Full-Scale Op Across Region
 
Far East
» Data Shows Japan’s Climate Has Become Less Extreme Over Past Century
 
Australia — Pacific
» A Whisker From Disaster: Scary Moment a Highly Venomous Red-Bellied Black Snake is Found Hiding Underneath a Dog Bowl
» Adorable Moment Little Boy, Two, Plays in Mud for the First Time After a Drought-Stricken Town Finally Sees Rain
» Australia Snubs an Offer From Denmark to Send Hundreds of Volunteer Firefighters to Battle the Country’s Destructive Bushfire Crisis
» Frustrated Chinese Students Claim Their Visas Are Being Delayed for ‘Political’ Reasons Amid Rising Fears Over Beijing’s Influence in Australia
» Gangster Who Died in a Hail of Bullets Called Himself ‘The Mad Leb’ And Was Mentored by One of the Country’s Most Feared Prison Enforcers — as His Son Returns to Scene of Shooting With a Bloody Leg Wound
» The Real Culprit of Australia’s Worst Ever Bushfire Crisis is Revealed as the ‘Climate Change Versus Arson’ Debate Rages During Extreme Fire Conditions
» Two Giant Bushfires Raging on NSW-Victoria Border Merge Into Terrifying Mega Blaze Spanning Half a Million Hectares as Heatwave Sparks Emergencies Across Several States
 
Latin America
» “Curaçao Can No Longer Handle the Number of Venezuelans”
» Puerto Rico Earthquake: Two-Thirds of Island Still Without Power
 
Immigration
» Europe’s Nigerian Mafia
» Exclusive: Border Patrol Circulates Intel Alert Titled ‘Suspected Suicide Bomber En Route to the U.S.’
» French Department Reveals 80 Percent of Minor Migrants Are Really Adults
» German Cardinal Criticized for Church Donations Made to Migrant NGOs
» Netherlands: 44 Percent of Women Feel Unsafe in Public Places
» Orban to Offer Free IVF in Anti-Immigrant Move
» Polish State TV Ordered to Apologize for Migrants Comments
» Sweden: Former Insurance Directors Warn Migrants Can Abuse Welfare System Easily
» Vatican Foreign Minister: Migration Has Always Been ‘Good for Humanity’
 
Culture Wars
» “Lincoln Project” & LGBT-GOP Declare War on Christians
» Breaking: B.C. Court Allows Transgender Child to Make Own Medical Decisions
» Graphic: Twitter Pedophiles Openly Discuss Raping Children
» PC Specialist Ad Banned in UK Because it Doesn’t Feature Women
» Tucker Carlson Debunks Claim There is an “Epidemic” of Transgenders Being Murdered
» UK: ‘Sexist’ Ad Banned for Having the Word ‘Girl’ in It
» UK: Gender Pay: BBC Told to Pay Female Presenter Same as Famous Male Presenter
 

Italian Employment Rose to Highest Level on Record in Nov — ISTAT

Stats agency says 59.4% of working-age population in employment

(ANSA) — Rome, January 9 — ISTAT said Thursday that 59.4% of the working-age population were in employment in November, up 0.1 of a percentage point on October and the highest level since the start of the statistical series in 1977.

The national statistics agency said the number of people in employment in Italy was 23.486 million.

Similarly, the proportion of the Italian population considered to be off the labour market because they are neither in work nor looking for a job dropped to 34% in November, a fall of 0.2 of a percentage point on October and the lowest level since 1977 in this case too, ISTAT said.

It said the number of ‘inactive’ people of working age, 15 to 64, dropped by 72,000, taking it down to 13.55 million. Italy’s unemployment rate was 9.7% in November, the same as the previous month, ISTAT said.

The jobless rate remained steady despite an increase on the number of people looking for work of 12,000 with respect to October. However, Italy’s unemployment rate for 15-to-24-year-olds who are actively on the labour market rose to 28.6% in November, up 0.4 of a percentage point with respect to October, ISTAT said.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Jobs Report: U.S. Economy Adds 145,000 Jobs in December, Unemployment Rate Holds at 3.5%

The U.S. labor market capped off 2019 with fewer than expected job gains and decelerating wage growth. The joblessness rate, however, held at a 50-year low.

Here were the main results from the Department of Labor’s report Friday compared to consensus estimates compiled by Bloomberg:

Change in non-farm payrolls: +145,000 vs. +160,000 expected and +256,000 in November

Unemployment rate: 3.5% vs. 3.5% expected and 3.5% in November

Average hourly earnings, month on month: +0.1% vs. +0.3% expected and +0.3% in November

Average hourly earnings, year on year: +2.9% vs. +3.1% expected and +3.1% in November

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

The Fed Can’t Reverse the Decline of Financialization and Globalization

For two generations, globalization and financialization have been the two engines of global growth and soaring assets. Globalization can mean many things, but its beating heart is the arbitraging of the labor of the powerless, and commodity, environmental and tax costs by the powerful to increase their profits and wealth.

In other words, globalization is the result of those at the top of the wealth-power pyramid shifting capital around the world to exploit lower costs of labor, commodities, environmental regulations and taxes.

This manifests as offshoring of jobs, the stripmining of forests, minerals, etc., the degradation of local ecosystems, the decline of tax revenues derived from capital and the explosive rise in stock market valuations as wages stagnate or decline. A key element in globalization is the transfer of risk from the owners of capital to the workers and public resources.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

BeOS: The Alternate Universe’s Mac OS X

You’re likely familiar with the old tale about how Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple and started his own company, NeXT. Apple then bought NeXT and their technologies and brought Jobs back as CEO once again. However, Jobs’ path wasn’t unique, and the history of computing since then could’ve gone a whole lot different.

In 1990, Jean-Louis Gassée, who replaced Jobs in Apple as the head of Macintosh development, was also fired from the company. He then also formed his own computer company with the help of another ex-Apple employee, Steve Sakoman. They called it Be Inc, and their goal was to create a more modern operating system from scratch based on the object-oriented design of C++, using proprietary hardware that could allow for greater media capabilities unseen in personal computers at the time.

BeOS was, at the time, a foray into a new way of doing home computing. The features it introduced that were brand new at the time are now ubiquitous — things such as preemptive multitasking, journaling filesystems and an uncluttered desktop design. In a way, it was forward-thinking enough that if you look at a screenshot of it today you’d swear it was just any other modern Linux environment, ‘90s graphical aesthetic aside. The main strength pushed by its developers was the multimedia support the platform offered: not only was the operating system designed in such a way that audiovisual formats were easy to work with, but also the hardware itself was built with a variety of I/O ports to accommodate such work.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Iranian National With Machete, Pick Ax Detained on Bridge Near Mar-a-Lago

Authorities in and around President Donald Trump’s home, Mar-a-Lago, in Florida are no doubt used to dealing with threats and crazy people.

But with the uptick in tension because of trouble with Iran and the reported threats made by Iranian officials who offered a bounty on Trump, they are no doubt in a heightened state of alert.

Not sure what the guy they arrested was doing, but given the facts, doesn’t sound like anything good.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

CBS Plans Suspicious ‘Documentary’ on Right-Wing YouTubers, Sends Emails to Nick Fuentes, Faith Goldy

Multiple conservative YouTubers with substantial followings received the same email from CBS.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Epstein Death Cover up Continues, Surveillance Video Evidence Destroyed

More evidence suggests Epstein didn’t kill himself.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Experts Say California Wildfires Not Caused by Climate Change

A panel of experts said Wednesday that California’s devastating wildfires were caused primarily by “the way we manage lands and develop our landscape” rather than climate change.

Speaking at the annual conference of the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington D.C., Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science at the University of California, Berkeley, said that perhaps 20 to 25 percent of the wildfire damage resulted from climate change, whereas “75 percent is the way we manage lands and develop our landscape.”

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Florida Man Friday: The Nugs Sauce or Your Life

The VodkaWife and I call the last two months of the year “The Crazy Season.” It kicks off with Halloween, a holiday which we do not take lightly, before quickly moving into Melissa’s birthdayweek. Yes, birthdayweek. There’s a dinner at home and a dinner out and a dinner with friends and a dinner with family. And as our boys get older, they want to do something special for Mom, too. It adds up. Then comes Thanksgiving, and on the odd-numbered years when it isn’t our turn to host, we still have to roast the patented Backup Turkey(tm) that guarantees everyone gets to bring home enough leftovers. Then there’s Christmas, which is far more involved than even Halloween. Three days later is our older son’s birthday, which means we have about 48 hours to make all the Christmas decorations disappear so that his birthday doesn’t feel like Christmas leftovers. Three days after that we throw a huge New Year’s bash, involving a DJ, a dance floor, professional bartenders, and some big theme involving tons more decorations. So you see why we call it the Crazy Season.

But what does all this have to do with Florida Man, you might ask.

After the Crazy Season ends, Melissa and I turn into hermits for six weeks. We pretty much go nowhere and do nothing until Valentine’s Day rolls around.

But not Florida Man. If you had feared that perhaps he was too exhausted to get up to his usual hijinks — fear not! Because today I have for you another action-packed.

Florida Man Friday!

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Iranian National Found With Knives on Flagler Memorial Bridge, Palm Beach Police Say

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Palm Beach police are investigating after they say a man believed to be an Iranian national was found with several knives on the Flagler Memorial Bridge on Friday.

Police said the man had no known address and was detained by officers.

In addition to the knives, police said the man had an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency on him.

           — Hat tip: Dean [Return to headlines]
 

Joaquin Phoenix Takes Jet to Climate Protest to Preach Vegan Diet

The Joker and Gladiator star Joaquin Phoenix flew to a Washington, DC, in his quest to fight climate change on Friday. Speaking to environmentalists , telling that a protest, he admitted he couldn’t avoid flying to attend the gathering.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Marianne Williamson Drops Out of 2020 Race

Here’s a Look Back At Her Controversial White House Run

Marianne Williamson, the best-selling author and spiritual guru whose White House run was based on a message of love and peace, officially suspended her presidential campaign on Friday.

The move came a week after she laid off her entire campaign staff, although the Democrat insisted at the time that she was not going to be ending her 2020 bid. She also said it was “amazing” what you could accomplish with volunteers.

But in a message to supporters, Williamson acknowledged that she would not be able to gain enough votes in the early-voting states to continue on in the competitive Democratic race. Her exit leaves 13 candidates still vying for the party’s nomination.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

NY Times Slapped With $5M Lawsuit for Citing SPLC, Branding Immigration Hawk a ‘White Nationalist’

On Thursday, controversial immigration hawk Peter Brimelow, who runs the anti-immigration website VDARE, filed a $5 million defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, claiming America’s newspaper of record maliciously attacked his character by branding him a “white nationalist” and citing the disreputable far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to bolster the charge.

On January 15, 2019, the Times branded Brimelow an “open white nationalist” in an article published online and in print. In opposition to its stated journalistic standards, the paper did not reach out to him for comment first. When his lawyer sent a letter demanding it retract the claim, the Times made a “stealth edit,” removing the word “open” from the online article and — again in violation of its own stated journalistic standards — not appending a correction to the article.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Paul Craig Roberts: The Justice Department is Devoid of Justice

The Justice (sic) Department is a criminal organization. It has no sense of justice. Convicting the innocent builds the conviction rate of the prosecutor as effectively as convicting the guilty. The Horowitz report of the Justice (sic) Department’s lies to the FISA court did not recommend a six-month prision sentence for those Justice (sic) Deplartment officials who lied to the government. Horowitz covered up the crimes by converting them into “mistakes.” Yes, they are embarrassing “mistakes,” but mistakes don’t bring prison sentences.

Gen. Flynn, who was President Trump’s National Security Advisor for a couple of weeks before Mueller and Flynn’s attorneys manuevered him into a plea bargain, allegedly lied to the FBI about whether he met with a Russian. Flynn and his attorneys should never have accepted the proposition that a National Security Advisor shouldn’t meet with Russians. Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski met with Russians all the the time. It was part of their job. Trump originally intended to normalize the strained relations with Russia. Flynn should have been meeting with Russians. It was his job.

Ninety-seven percent of felony cases are resolved with plea bargains. In other words, there is no trial. The defendant admits to guilt for a lighter sentence, and if he throws in “cooperation,” which generally means giving false evidence against someone else in the prosecutor’s net, no sentence at all. Flynn was expected to help frame Trump and Flynn’s former business partner, Bijan Rafiekian, on an unrelated matter. He didn’t, which means he is “uncooperative” and deserving of a prison sentence.

Plea bargains have replaced trials for three main reasons.

One is that the defense attorney doesn’t want the hard work of defending his client.

One is that the majority of defendants cannot afford to pay the cost of defense.

One is that refusing to plea guilty and demanding a trial angers both the prosecutor and judge.

Trials take time and provide a test of often unreliable police and prosecutorial evidence. They mean work for the prosecutor. Even if he secures a conviction, during the same time he could have obtained many more plea bargain convictions. For the judge, trials back up his case docket. Consequently, a trial means for the defendant very high risks of a much longer and more severe sentence than he would get in exchange for saving prosecutor and judge time and energy. All of this is explained to the defendant by his attorney.

It was explained to Gen. Flynn. He agreed to a plea, most likely advised that his “offense” was so minor, no sentence would be forthcoming. Flynn later tried to revoke his plea, saying it was coerced, but the Clinton-appointed judge refused to let him out of the trap.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Trump Says ‘Pathetic’ Democrats Would’ve Leaked Soleimani Strike Plans to ‘Fake’ Media

‘We had to make a decision, we didn’t have time to call crazy Nancy’

During a rally in Ohio Thursday, President Trump slammed Democrats for criticizing his decision to take out Iranian terrorist General Qassem Soleimani, saying that if he’d informed Congress ahead of the surgical strike, ‘pathetic’ House leaders would have called the ‘corrupt media’.

The President also claimed that the ‘sadistic mass murderer’ “Soleimani was actively planning new attacks and he was looking very seriously at our embassies, and not just the embassy in Baghdad.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

University of Connecticut Student Narrowly Avoids Jail for Using the N-Word

A University of Connecticut student who was arrested for using the n-word has narrowly avoided jail.

Jarred Karal was arrested after he was filmed walking through a parking lot and shouting the word “n*gger.” He was with two other individuals, one of whom was also arrested.

The students claimed they were playing a game centered around screaming vulgar words, but were charged under CGS 53-37, “ridicule on account of creed, religion, color, denomination, nationality or race.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Urban Planning Professor Calls for Rethinking of Private Homeownership

Marxists working to dismantle the American dream

A University of California-Los Angeles professor made her views on climate change public in a recent op-ed, questioning American private homeownership in response to climate change, particularly California’s forest fires.

Professor Kian Goah, assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA, whose expertise includes urban ecological design, spatial politics, and social mobilization in the issues of climate change and global urbanization, argued in an op-ed for The Nation that what makes the California forest fires even worse is urban planning.

Its subtitle reads, “if we want to keep cities safe in the face of climate change, we need to seriously question the ideal of private homeownership.”

[Comment: www.alamy.com/stock-photo/communist-era-apartments.html — Communist Era Apartments — the Democrats vision for America. ]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Vermont: Bill Would Ban Cellphone Use for Those Under 21

MONTPELIER — A bill has been introduced in the state Senate that would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to use or possess a cellphone.

The bill, S.212, would make such possession or use a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of a year behind bars and a $1,000 fine.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

McDonald’s Tests Out New Vegan Burger in Canada

McDonald’s has introduced a plant-based vegan burger to compete with other chains that are doing the same. The burger is called the P.L.T., an acronym for plant, lettuce, and tomato. It’s currently available at 52 locations in Southwestern Ontario, according to recent article in Forbes Magazine.

McDonald’s is cutting the price of the P.L.T. from its original $6.49 Canadian (US$4.90), down to $5.99 as of Jan. 14. In a combo with fries and a drink for $9.89 Canadian (US$7.46). As of Monday, McDonald’s said the P.L.T. will now cost $5.99 Canadian as of January 14. The price drop appears to be due to consumer complaints.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Meghan Markle Returned to Canada After Quitting as Senior Royal

Meghan Markle has returned to Canada, leaving her husband Prince Harry in the UK to deal with the fallout of their bombshell announcement that the couple will be stepping back as senior members of the royal household to embark on a “progressive” new life.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

France, The “Budding Islamic Republic”

“Five years after the killings at Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher, France has learned to live with the Islamist threat,” wrote Yves Thréard, deputy editor at the daily newspaper Le Figaro.

“Not a month goes by… without a murderous attack with the cry of ‘Allahu Akbar’ taking place on our soil… But what is the point of fighting the effects of Islamism if we do not tackle the origins of this ideology of death? On that front, however, denial continues to compete with naiveté. Nothing has changed in the last five years. On the contrary.

“In the name of diversity, non-discrimination and human rights, France has accepted a number of blows to its culture and history… Islamists are a hot-button issue. They continue the fight which, even without weapons, has all the allure of a war of civilizations. Is the famous ‘Charlie spirit’, which some people thought was blowing after the January 2015 attacks, just an illusion?”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

How Prince Harry ‘Defied the Queen’ By Announcing Plans for Him and Meghan Markle to Quit as Senior Royals

Prince Harry defied clear instructions from the Queen not to announce that he and Meghan are to quit as “senior” royals, the Evening Standard has been told.

The Queen made it clear to her grandson that he should not proceed with any announcement this week about his future after he requested a meeting with her at Sandringham, according to senior sources.

The Duke of Sussex’s apparent refusal to comply with an explicit request from the head of the royal family will help to explain the unprecedented expressions of “hurt” and “disappointment” from the palace over last night’s statement.

[Comment: Apparently this is a big deal. Royalty have obligations that Harry doesn’t want to do — he seems to be following his ‘woke’ wife.]

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary: Orban on 2022 Elections: ‘I Stand Prepared’ To Continue as PM

Prime Minister Viktor Orban told an international press conference on Thursday he was ready to run for another term in his post.

Ruling Fidesz has yet to make a decision concerning its prime minister candidate for the next election, Orban said, but added that “I stand prepared”.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Hungary Overtakes Poland in GDP Per Capita

After eight years, Hungary has managed to overtake Poland in terms of GDP per capita, business outlet Forbes reports, citing an article by liberal weekly HVG.

According to the summary showcasing Eurostat data, Hungarian economic output per capita rose to 71% of the EU average in 2018. In 2016 and 2017, the same value was 68% (when adjusted for purchasing power parity).

At the same time, compared to the rest of the EU, the relative share of GDP in Poland increased to just 70% from 68 and 69 in the previous years.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Italy: 3 Men Try to Rape Male Friend

Near Pordenone on New Year’s Eve

(ANSA) — Pordenone, January 8 — Three Indian men aged between 25 and 29 beat and tried to rape a 31-year-old Pakistani male friend and fellow farmhand at Vivaro near Podeonone in northern Italy on New Year’s Eve, sources said Wednesday.

           — Hat tip: Insubria [Return to headlines]
 

Meghan and Harry Trademarked ‘Sussex Royal’ Branded Items as Long Ago as June 2019

Meghan and Harry registered “Sussex Royal” with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office in June — suggesting the couple had been planning to resign as “senior” royals for at least six months.

The trademarked brand may suggest that the couple may sell “Sussex Royal” items when they transition to becoming “financially independent” as they step away from a majority of their royal duties.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Prince Harry’s Role as Head of Royal Marines ‘In Doubt’, Hadn’t Been Seen ‘In Months’: Claim

A military source speaking to The Mirror claims that Prince Harry’s position as head of the Royal Marines is “in doubt” after his announcement that he and his wife Meghan Markle are stepping back as “senior” royals.

Prince Harry was made Captain General of the Royal Marines in 2019, taking over the position from his 98-year-old grandfather Prince Philip.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Scottish Hermits Excommunicated After Accusing Pope Francis of Heresy

Three hermits living on a Scottish island have been excommunicated from the Catholic Church after accusing Pope Francis of heresy in an online declaration.

The Black Hermits, who live on the island of Westray in Orkney — Father Stephen de Kerdrel, Sister Colette Roberts, and Brother Damon Kelly — were informed of their excommunication from the Catholic Church on Christmas Day in a written notice from the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden Halts Iran Air Flights After Crash

The Swedish transport agency has imposed a temporary ban on Iran Air flights in and out of Sweden after the unexplained crash this week of a Ukrainian passenger jet as it left Tehran airport. Seven Swedish citizens died in the incident. “The reason is the uncertainty around the accident and the security of civil aviation,” the agency said in a statement reported by Reuters.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Syrian Orthodox Church in Sweden Under Guard After Series of Suspected Arson Attacks

Following several suspicious fires, members of the Syrian Orthodox St Maria’s church in Norrköping say they will begin patrolling the area around the church at night to avoid further potential attacks.

The move comes after the church received a fire alarm on Sunday night as a fire had broken out in the assembly room of the church, the second suspicious fire in a month according to Isa Gergin, spokesman and caretaker for the Syrian Orthodox Church, SVT reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Police ‘Did Nothing’ As Alleged Kurdish Rape Gang Abused Girl, Court Hears

Police “did nothing” as a mostly Kurdish alleged rape gang is said to have sexually exploited and “forcibly raped” a girl from the age of 14 in Sheffield, according to prosecutors.

Sheffield Crown Court was told that the underage girl “fell into the clutches of [the alleged gang] and others who abused and exploited her” after her mother died and she was taken into care, according to a court report buried in the Sheffield and South Yorkshire sub-section of the England sub-section of the BBC News website.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Pensioner, 73, Fined £75 for Littering and ‘Treated Like a Criminal’ After Feeding Crumbs to Pigeons

A pensioner who volunteers at a homeless shelter has been slapped with a £75-fine and ‘treated like a criminal’ for feeding flakes of pastry from a sausage roll to pigeons.

Zena Altham, 73, of Clitheroe, Lancashire, was issued a littering fine by a council enforcement officer after sprinkling the pastry flakes from her car window.

She was shopping with her husband, son and daughter-in-law and decided to visit Poundbakery for a savoury snack.

But after she was caught on CCTV emptying her crumbs from a bag for pigeons to eat, an officer swooped in and handed her a fixed penalty notice.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Woman, 21, Posed as a 16-Year-Old Boy to Sexually Assault as Many as 50 Girls

A 21-year-old woman who posed as a teenage boy to sexually assault up to 50 girls as young as 13 after grooming them online has today been jailed for eight years.

Gemma Watts, from Enfield, north London, travelled the country by train to meet the youngsters, who believed they were in a relationship with a boy close to their own age. Disguised with her long hair tied into a bun and wearing a baseball cap, baggy jogging bottoms and a hoodie, Watts convinced them she was 16-year-old ‘Jake Waton’.

She would then swap messages with victims, including intimate photographs, using WhatsApp, Snapchat, or text, and speak over the phone before meeting them in person.

Watts, who once had a promising football career, was jailed today at Winchester Crown Court today after pleading guilty to seven charges including assault by penetration, sexual assault and grooming.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Would Turkish Schools in Germany Increase Erdogan’s Influence Abroad?

The German government is working out a possible framework for opening Turkish schools in three German cities.

The German government announced on Friday negotiations with Ankara to create a framework for Turkish schools to be opened in Berlin, Cologne and Frankfurt, sparking debate over the schools’ role in increasing Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan’s political influence abroad.

The three cities are among Germany’s largest and have significant population centers of Turkish citizens and Germans of Turkish descent. Germany is home to some 3 million individuals with Turkish roots, half of whom hold German citizenship.

A spokesperson for Germany’s Foreign Ministry told reporters on Friday that the proposal primarily aims at “securing a legal basis” for German schools in Turkey.

           — Hat tip: C. Cantoni [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: Video Shows Ukrainian Passenger Plane Being Hit by Missile in Iran

The New York Times claims to have obtained footage showing the Boeing 737 passenger jet that crashed in Iran on Wednesday morning being hit by a surface-to-air missile shortly after takeoff.

Watch the clip below:…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Caroline Glick: Trump and the Mythmakers

For the past 40-odd years, two narratives have guided American Middle East policy. Both were invented by the Carter administration. One relates to Iran. One relates to Israel.

Both narratives reject reality as the basis for foreign policy decision-making in favor of delusion. Over the past two months, President Donald Trump has rejected and disavowed them both. His opponents are apoplectic.

As far as Iran is concerned, as journalist Lee Smith explained in Tablet online magazine this week, when Iranian “students” seized the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, they placed the Carter administration in a dilemma: If President Jimmy Carter acknowledged that the “students” weren’t students, but soldiers of Iran’s dictator Ayatollah Khomeini, the US would be compelled to fight back. And Carter and his advisers didn’t want to do that.

So rather than admit the truth, Carter accepted the absurd fiction spun by the regime that Khomeini was an innocent bystander who, try as he might, couldn’t get a bunch of “students” in central Tehran to free the hostages.

At the base of their decision to prefer fantasy to reality in regards to Iran was the hope that Khomeini and his “students” would be satisfied with a pound or two of American flesh and wouldn’t cause Washington too many other problems.

So too, as Smith noted, the Carter administration was propelled by guilt. The worldviews of many members of the administration had been shaped on radical university campuses in the 1960s. They agreed with the Iranian revolutionaries who cursed Americans as imperialists. They perceived Khomeini and his followers as “authentic” Third World actors who were giving the Americans their comeuppance.

Khomeini and his “Death to America” shouting followers got the message. They understood that Washington had given them a green light to attack Americans in moderate and, as Smith put it, “plausibly deniable” doses. it. For the next 40 years, Iran maintained its aggression against America. And from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, every president since Carter accepted and kept faith with Carter’s decision not to hold the Iranian regime responsible for the acts of aggression and war it carried out against America through proxies…

           — Hat tip: Caroline Glick [Return to headlines]
 

Iran is Using Bulldozers at the Ukrainian Plane Crash Site, Which Could Make it Impossible to Prove What Happened

Iran has used bulldozers to move around pieces of debris from a crashed Ukrainian passenger jet, possibly destroying evidence that could help prove what happened to the doomed flight.

Images and reports from the crash site, just outside the Iranian capital, Tehran, show at least one bulldozer working in the debris at the site, where the Boeing 737-800 crashed Wednesday morning, killing all 176 people on board.

The crash site is at the center of a tense geopolitical struggle over exactly what brought down the jet, which was operated by Ukrainian International Airlines.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Now the Iranians Are Promising More Military Action Against U.S. Forces, And That Would Definitely Start World War 3

What in the world are the Iranians thinking? After President Trump decided not to respond militarily to the rockets that the Iranians fired at U.S. bases in Iraq, it appeared that a major war had been averted. People all over the world celebrated this unexpected turn of events, and global stock markets soared. But now the Iranians are changing their tune again. Instead of “standing down”, top Iranian leaders are warning that “harsher revenge” is on the way and that there will be more attacks against U.S. forces. I think that Iran correctly perceives that Trump does not want a war, but if Trump gets pushed too far he will hit the Iranians extremely hard. And once the Iranian homeland starts getting pummeled by U.S. missiles, the Iranians will start firing some of the 200,000 missiles that they have stockpiled at Israel, and needless to say the Israelis will respond with even greater force. In other words, any escalation of this conflict at this point has the potential to spark World War 3.

So the Iranians would be wise to stop this nonsense while they still can, but apparently they have no intention of doing so.

On Thursday, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s Aerospace Force claimed that the missile attacks the other night were just “the first stage of a major regional operation aimed at expelling U.S. forces from the Middle East”…

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Top IRGC General: Strikes on US Forces in Iraq Just Beginning of Full-Scale Op Across Region

Iran launched a missile strike on US positions in Iraq in retaliation for the assassination of its IRGC General Qasem Soleimani. According to US statements, this attack didn’t result in any casualties and only caused minor damage to American bases.

Head of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh has stated that the 8 January missile attack on American bases in neighbouring Iraq was only the start of a series of attacks that will take place across the entire region, Tasnim News Agency reported. The general further shared that the country had hundreds of missiles ready for launch, when it carried out strikes and added that Tehran conducted cyberattacks on the same day against American plane and drone navigation systems.

At the same time, Hajizadeh revealed that Iran didn’t plan to kill any US soldiers on 8 January, saying the country had targeted the American “military machine” instead. The Iranian general noted that driving out US forces from the Middle East would be the only “appropriate revenge” for their assassination of Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani on 3 January.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Data Shows Japan’s Climate Has Become Less Extreme Over Past Century

Though the media like to tell their audience that man-made climate change is leading to more extreme weather, the data don’t support it.

In fact, one could easily argue that Japan’s climate is more agreeable today.

By Kirye in Tokyo and Pierre Gosselin

No trend in long-term annual precipitation

Over the past 100 years, for example, annual precipitation has not trended in a particular direction over the long term, showing rather some cyclical attributes.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

A Whisker From Disaster: Scary Moment a Highly Venomous Red-Bellied Black Snake is Found Hiding Underneath a Dog Bowl

Stuart McKenzie from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers was contacted about the red-bellied black snake that he later found hiding.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Adorable Moment Little Boy, Two, Plays in Mud for the First Time After a Drought-Stricken Town Finally Sees Rain

Touching pictures show a NSW two-year-old playing in the mud for the first time ever as his town finally enjoyed rainfall for the first time in months.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Australia Snubs an Offer From Denmark to Send Hundreds of Volunteer Firefighters to Battle the Country’s Destructive Bushfire Crisis

As exhausted Australian fire crews battled infernos across the country, 400 Danish firefighters signed up to fly in and help — but the government has turned them down.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Frustrated Chinese Students Claim Their Visas Are Being Delayed for ‘Political’ Reasons Amid Rising Fears Over Beijing’s Influence in Australia

There are 135 Chinese PhD candidates and an additional 30 students who contacted their national tabloid outlet, Global Times, detailing their attempts to study in Australia.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Gangster Who Died in a Hail of Bullets Called Himself ‘The Mad Leb’ And Was Mentored by One of the Country’s Most Feared Prison Enforcers — as His Son Returns to Scene of Shooting With a Bloody Leg Wound

Underworld enforcer Nabil Maghnie had been living the high life on borrowed time in the years before his bloody demise on Thursday night.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

The Real Culprit of Australia’s Worst Ever Bushfire Crisis is Revealed as the ‘Climate Change Versus Arson’ Debate Rages During Extreme Fire Conditions

The cause of virtually every major blaze across bushfire-ravaged Australia is under investigation — but firefighters say arson is not the real culprit.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

Two Giant Bushfires Raging on NSW-Victoria Border Merge Into Terrifying Mega Blaze Spanning Half a Million Hectares as Heatwave Sparks Emergencies Across Several States

The East Ournie Creek and Dunns Road fires near the Victoria border were upgraded to watch and act level this morning. By lunchtime they had merged together as temperatures hit 37C.

           — Hat tip: SS [Return to headlines]
 

“Curaçao Can No Longer Handle the Number of Venezuelans”

WILLEMSTAD — The number of Venezuelans in Curaçao will have risen to 21,000 by the end of 2020. That presence leads to such great pressure on general resources that Curaçao can no longer bear that.

Lesley Fer, director of Risk Management and Disaster Policy, said this yesterday during a presentation for the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation, IPKO.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Puerto Rico Earthquake: Two-Thirds of Island Still Without Power

Two-thirds of Puerto Rico is still without power, and a quarter is without running water, after a series of earthquakes this week.

At least one person died and 300 homes were destroyed in a 6.4-magnitude quake and 6.0 aftershock on Tuesday.

It was the strongest quake to hit the island in 102 years.

Thousands of people have since slept outside or in their cars, fearful of being indoors during another quake that could cause their homes to collapse.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Europe’s Nigerian Mafia

One of the fastest growing criminal networks in Europe is now the Nigerian mafia, which is spreading its criminal activities across the continent. It consists of rival groups such as Black Axe, Vikings and Maphite. Most recently, authorities in Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Malta conducted an international operation directed at two of the major Nigerian mafia groups. Police accused the gangs of human-trafficking, drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, sexual violence and prostitution.

The Nigerian mafia, according to the report, is “trafficking women by the tens of thousands”. Italian intelligence has named the group “the most structured and dynamic” of any foreign crime entity operating in Italy, according to the Washington Post.

It is no wonder that the Nigerian group has become so prominent in Italy: the country has been one of Europe’s front doors for migrants entering Europe.

What distinguishes the Nigerian crime networks is their severe brutality — Italian police have described them as using “urban guerilla warfare” to hold on to territory in Italy — and their use of voodoo rituals…

In Sweden, migrant gang crime has become an almost insurmountable problem: some commentators there have described the situation as “war”. Denmark is increasingly fighting migrant gang crime. In Germany, where the migrant gangs are known as criminal family clans, authorities expect to be fighting the problem for decades to come.

In policy debates, the detrimental effects of migration on crime, particularly gang crime, do not receive nearly the attention — if any — they deserve. They should.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Exclusive: Border Patrol Circulates Intel Alert Titled ‘Suspected Suicide Bomber En Route to the U.S.’

Authorities along the U.S. border are on alert after receiving a law enforcement intelligence warning about a possible suicide bomber heading north toward the U.S.-Mexico Border. Breitbart obtained an exclusive copy of the leaked official document from a source operating under the umbrella of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The official report was circulated to law enforcement partners along the U.S. border, the intelligence originated from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the report was circulated by Border Patrol Intelligence. Breitbart confirmed the authenticity of the document with multiple law enforcement sources; however, the details contained within the report have not been verified by Breitbart and the purpose of officials circulating the warning is to alert other authorities and to seek help in verifying the accuracy of the information.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

French Department Reveals 80 Percent of Minor Migrants Are Really Adults

The French department of Côte-d’Or has revealed that of the over 500 migrants claiming to be minors who arrived at the department in 2019, just 20 per cent of them were actually underage.

The department, which contains the city of Dijon, stated that it received 523 foreigners who claimed to be minors in 2019 and that examinations revealed that only around a hundred were the age they claimed to be, Le Bien Public reports.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

German Cardinal Criticized for Church Donations Made to Migrant NGOs

Leading German Cardinal Reinhard Marx has come under fire for donating €50,000 of Catholic Church funds to United4Rescue, a coalition of NGOs engaged in migrant sea rescues.

In an open letter published Thursday, Stephen Brandner, deputy federal spokesman for the populist Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) party, asked whether the president of the German Bishops’ Conference had received approval from the church community to donate €50,000 to an organization that encourages people smuggling.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Netherlands: 44 Percent of Women Feel Unsafe in Public Places

Large number of surveyed women cite run-ins with foreign men.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Orban to Offer Free IVF in Anti-Immigrant Move

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban announced on Friday that his country will provide free in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment to couples at state-run clinics, the BBC reported. “If we want Hungarian children instead of immigrants, and if the Hungarian economy can generate the necessary funding, then the only solution is to spend as much of the funds as possible on supporting families and raising children,” the prime minister said.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Polish State TV Ordered to Apologize for Migrants Comments

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A court in Poland has found state TV station guilty of insulting city authorities in Gdansk, including its slain mayor, and ordered the news station to publicly apologize and pay $13,000 to a refugee center.

The Warsaw Provincial Court ruled Friday in a case filed in 2016 by Gdansk Mayor Pawel Adamowicz against TVP INFO over derogatory material it aired about migrants that also criticized the mayor’s decision to invite migrants to Gdansk. Adamowicz, a critic of Poland’s right-wing government, was killed a year ago by an embittered ex-prisoner, during a fund raiser.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Sweden: Former Insurance Directors Warn Migrants Can Abuse Welfare System Easily

Three former Swedish insurance fund directors have claimed that since 2015, accounting for migrants in the Swedish national social insurance system has practically collapsed, leading to a high potential for abuse.

Stig Orustfjord, Gunnar Johansson, and Erik Kärnekull have claimed that the large number of migrants received by Sweden at the height of the migrant crisis has overwhelmed the bureaucracy and accounting for migrants has “almost collapsed”.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Vatican Foreign Minister: Migration Has Always Been ‘Good for Humanity’

The Vatican’s foreign minister said this week that “history is made of migrations” while insisting that migration has always been a good thing for humanity.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

“Lincoln Project” & LGBT-GOP Declare War on Christians

The establishment is increasing attacks against Trump leading up to 2020

On this Friday broadcast of The David Knight Show, you’ll find out about the latest attack against President Trump with a group of establishment Republicans targeting his evangelical base.

In the face of unrelenting assaults on free speech, it’s more important than ever for you to share this censored transmission.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

Breaking: B.C. Court Allows Transgender Child to Make Own Medical Decisions

The B.C. Court of Appeal has delivered a verdict today regarding the right of a child to receive treatment for gender dysphoria without parental consent.

The case first came to public attention in January 2019 when the father was told that his child, who was 14-years-old at the time, could begin hormone treatment without parental approval under BC’s Infant Act. The father sought a court injunction to prevent the doctors from commencing therapy. Since then, the names of all individuals involved in the case have been put under publication ban, including the names of the doctors who were involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the youth.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Graphic: Twitter Pedophiles Openly Discuss Raping Children

Social media site contributing to normalization of pedophilia.

           — Hat tip: JD [Return to headlines]
 

PC Specialist Ad Banned in UK Because it Doesn’t Feature Women

A PC Specialist ad has been banned in the UK for perpetuating “harmful gender stereotypes” because it doesn’t feature any women.

Apparently, the commercial, which features a white man, a black man and an Asian man, isn’t diverse enough.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority cracked down on the ad after just eight offended morons complained.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

Tucker Carlson Debunks Claim There is an “Epidemic” of Transgenders Being Murdered

Tucker Carlson debunked the so-called transgender “murder epidemic” on his show last night, highlighting figures which prove transgenders are actually safer than the general population.

Carlson began the segment by playing a clip of presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren vowing to “read the names of transgender women, of people of color, who have been killed in the past year.”

He then quoted Democratic pressure group the Human Rights Campaign, which supported Warren, claiming that there is an “epidemic of violence against transgender people — especially trans women of color.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: ‘Sexist’ Ad Banned for Having the Word ‘Girl’ in It

A freelancers website was forced to apologise and retrained its advertising staff on using sensitive language after publishing an advertisement with the word “girl” in it.

Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) came down on PeoplePerHour, a website that connects freelance workers with businesses, for a London underground ad last year that featured a woman with the phrase: “You do the girl boss thing, we’ll do the SEO thing.”

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

UK: Gender Pay: BBC Told to Pay Female Presenter Same as Famous Male Presenter

An employment tribunal has sided with BBC presenter Samira Ahmed after she argued she should be paid the same as fellow presenter Jeremy Vine.

Ahmed argued that she had been underpaid for her role on the Newswatch programme relative to Vine’s role on Points of View, and that she should be handed roughly £700,000 in back pay.

           — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago [Return to headlines]
 

3 thoughts on “Gates of Vienna News Feed 1/10/2020

  1. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/stunning-reversal-iran-admits-accidentally-shooting-down-ukrainian-passenger-jet

    Just a feeling or hunch, but one would think that the movement corridors of passenger planes at an airport are known well enough to make this kind of human error highly improbable. A barbarian’s mindset combined with an agenda, however, might plausibly come up with the idea that it would be easy to blame the Americans for it.

  2. http://i.4cdn.org/pol/1578801760860.webm

    > Be female member of the German parliament in 1983
    > sexism is still wide spread
    > say women have the right to chose about their own body & life
    > ask the males parliament member to stop the daily sexism
    > all men start laughing at u

    Why were people so based back in the days?

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